Financial Literacy and Technical Assistance

Financial literacy education and asset-building services are the gateway to economic self-sufficiency and integration for all people living in poverty, including immigrants. People living in poverty need to become "stakeholders" in our socio-economic system in order to move out of poverty. Acquiring assets is a key way to make that move.

Participants in the IDA program also learn about predatory lending practices through our Financial Literacy classes and become aware of financial opportunities and pitfalls. After achieving financial literacy and learning about sound saving habits, clients explore how starting a business would be of benefit to them.

Individual Development Accounts (IDA)

An IDA, or Individual Development Account, is a matched savings program offered through the United Way’s Greater St. Louis Asset-Building Collaborative. The program is designed to assist hard working families to build financial assets by providing the extra dollars and financial tools to help you save for their future.

The Assets for Life IDA is a matched savings account set up as a joint account between you and our agency. If the eligibility criteria are met, your IDA account will be matched two dollars for every dollar you save. Matched dollars will be held in a separate account until you are ready to purchase your asset. The program will match up to $3,000 (2:1 match rate) of your IDA savings over a 30-month period. The savings from an IDA can be used to:

To help purchase a home

To carry out home repair

To pay for post-secondary education or training

For small business capitalization

To purchase a personal vehicle

Since its inception, our IDA Program has helped more than 600 immigrant families with matched savings totaling upwards of $1 million.